Is surface area a scam?

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Question: Does every tank have all the surface area it can possibly need or do these bricks/blocks actually help?

I would contend that they can be worse than not help. IMO, there's this idea that driving ammonia as low as possible is a goal. i do not agree. Organisms such as corals taking up nitrate need to spend energy to convert it to ammonia first. When given both, many preferentially take up ammonia and I see no reason to not give them what they prefer.

And any tank with lowish nitrate is also not helped by denitrification, but hurt. Some folks have to dose nitrate or feed more than they want just to maintain enough nitrate.

I personally would not (and did not) put such blocks in a reef tank, although in some scenarios, as mentioned above, they may be useful.

 

[ナイトコア猫]

These brick/ blocks as you highlighted have a solid core so surface area is based on shape of the 'block' the outside area

You can gain more surface area by drilling cutting blocks into pieces

How much is needed depends on individual needs. It depends on how much sand and rocks you use, how big the fish tank is, and how many fish you use. I prefer to use very little sand and rocks, so. Just placing a piece of porcelain artificial ceramic tile will solve all my problems.

Once, I needed to build a very small temporary fish tank for the purpose of moving. There was no sand or stones in it, but the fish did not suffer any harm or death. But this brick of mine has been placed in the original fish tank for a long time. It is not a brand new brick that I just bought.

 

[rossco]

In my 24 x 72 bare bottom frag tank it made a huge difference and took care of Dino’s within a week of adding one that I had seeded in my display sump.

For an established reef tank with rock work, probably not necessary.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In my 24 x 72 bare bottom frag tank it made a huge difference and took care of Dino’s within a week of adding one that I had seeded in my display sump.

I would hypothesize that was from adding the bacteria it came with, not because of any functionality it provided.